Buried Inside
by magnipisika16
Summary: It's never easy to dig out something that was buried inside . . .  Unless it wants you to.


**FINALLY! THIS FIC IS DONE! Whooh.**

***groans* I know it took me a long time to post this, but, school is starting to take its toll on me. Oh well. At least it's almost Christmas break anyway. Won't be long now ^.^**

**Anyway, this fic might make you feel a lot of emotions, so if, after reading this, you suffer from extreme emotional distress, don't blame me 'cause I've warned you well in advance!**

**Enjoy, kora!**

* * *

><p>Moments. Everything takes just about a few moments. A few moments to start. A few moments to finish. A few moments to pack up. A few moments to walk away. A few moments to take in the scenery as you walk. A few moments to listen to your surroundings. A few moments to realize that you were being followed.<p>

"You can come out now," the cobalt-haired woman ordered, directing her voice towards a tree.

No answer came, but she insisted on waiting patiently. Soon enough, the bushes around the tree rattled like they were being shaken by someone. Out from the shaky bushes was a blond man; quite taller than she and owns a demeanor that showcased that of a soldier. The round pacifier hanging around his neck shone a beautiful, bright blue, similar to that of his eyes, indicating the tranquilizing rain.

"Colonello," she claimed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The Rain Arcobaleno, Colonello, smiled goofily at her, and spread out his arms as if he was attempting to hug her, but he didn't move closer and neither did she.

"Lal, my lovely morning sun," he called out, loud enough for the whole forest to hear. Lal winced, feeling embarrassed for him.

"Stop calling me that," she hissed. "Seriously, how long do you intend on following me?"

"Till I reach the end of the world, kora!" he cried even louder, walking near her, and, amidst her refusal, wrapped his arms around her. She gave out a faint "oof" as he swayed her around violently as if she was a doll.

"Quit you're stupid pick-up lines, imbecile!" she managed to cry beneath her yelps of pain. She inserted her two hands to whatever space he had allowed between their two bodies, and pushed him away. "It's bad enough that you stalk me everywhere ago, but to harass me anywhere you wish?"

"Okay then," he replied. "Next time, you get to pick the place where I'll harass you, kora."

Lal's cheeked burned fiery red as she grabbed his collar and continuously slapped his left and right cheeks alternately.

"Moron!" Slap. "You always-" Slap. "-can't give me-" Slap. "You're a-" Slap. "-and you-" Slap. "-rights to-" Slap. "Have you-" Slap. "-for your former-" Slap. "You big-" Slap. "and I hate you for that!" Slap.

A few more cut statements and another set of bitchslaps later, after Colonello's cheeks started to grow swollen that it would hurt for him to even smile a little, Lal let go of his collar, and started to stomp away.

"Lal! Wait, kora!" Colonello cried, not recognizing the pain in his cheeks.

A few moments to stand up and follow her. A few moments to shake him away. A few moments to realize that it ended in futile, and he was still following her. A few moments for her to scream at him how annoying he was getting. A few moments for him to just laugh at her statements. A few moments for her to attempt to slap him again. A few moments for him to say something that will make her drop her hands and blush furiously. A few moments for him to chuckle and comment on how cute she was when she blushed. A few moments to realize that they were not alone.

"Who's there?" Lal demanded.

About five tall and powerful-looking men came out and stood in front of them. Various advanced weapons armed their muscular bodies, and they all wore the same uniform.

Lal backed out a little to be at Colonello's side.

"Colonello, we both need to be careful," she whispered.

"Why is that, kora?"

"In case you haven't noticed, they wore the uniforms of the Verona Family, one of the Vongola's notorious rivals. A fight will surely ensue if they find out we're on side with the Vongolas."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, you just shut the hell up. We need to prevent any battle against them from happening for, number one, we're deep in enemies' territory, and, number two, this is also out of _my_ mission. As for you . . . Well, I doubt you have a good reason to fight them."

"Hey!" one of the men cried. The two bobbed their heads into his direction. The man smiled. "You and your boyfriend there have any plans on telling us what you're whispering about? Or is it only for two lovebirds to discuss?"

The other four guffawed with laughter. Lal withdrew the urge to punch him in the face.

"Aw, look, boss!" the other chimed in. "The lass's feeling sorta' embarrassed! Maybe we shouldn't be disturbing them. They look like they're too busy with their own love affairs!"

More laughter.

"Drunken assholes," Lal muttered.

The first man, who seemed to be their boss, stopped laughing.

"What's that?" he cried. They all stopped laughing.

"Nothing," Lal replied. "Sorry to disappoint you, but he's not my boyfriend. We're not related in any way, except for the fact that we're both just by-passers. Now if you would be so kind enough as to let us pass through, we would pretty much appreciate it."

"Not your boyfriend, eh?" another man cried. "Well, aren't we lucky? Why don't your little friend there go ahead and you just come with us. That'll be a good way to spend your time, Doll Face!"

Several chuckles of agreement were heard, and it all grew into more heaps of laughter. Colonello almost lost his temper as he moved forward to punch the crap out of these bastards, but Lal stopped him.

"I appreciate the offer," she started, much to Colonello's surprise. "But, I myself have my own plans. Now, if you'll just let us through . . ."

The men stopped laughing, but still retained sarcastic, drunken smiles on their faces. Still, they separated the line they formed to let them through.

A few moments for them to reach the men. A few moments for him to hear one of the men insulting her. A few moments for him to grab the insulter' collar and punch the latter in the face. A few moments for her to pull him and push the other man away. A few moments for the other men to realize that they were from the Vongola's CEDEF. A few moments to ready their arms. A few moments for him to accept the challenge. A few moments for her to grab him and run the other way. A few moments to run while dodging bullets. A few moments to reach a cliff, hesitate a bit, and jump. A few moments to reach a cave, and stay there.

"Phew," Colonello sighed, pressing his hand on his chest. "I think we lost them, kora!"

"Moron!" she cried, hitting him on the head. "I told you to shut the hell up! Has your obeying skills faded along with your common sense?"

"I'm sorry, kora!" he cried back, rubbing his head. "But, that guy just got into my nerves and-"

"That's it?" she yelled. "How many times do I have to tell you that, in a battle, the person who first loses his temper is the one who gets defeated?"

"Many," he mumbled.

"And, how many times did you actually apply that?"

Colonello just hang his head low, looking absolutely grim.

"Well?"

"I didn't like the way they insulted you, kora . . ."

"That's it? You risked a deathly battle to commence because of that?"

"And why did you back down, huh, kora?"

"'Cause I already lost you once, and I'm not going to risk losing you again!"

Lal's hand suddenly to her mouth. _Did I just say that out loud?_

Colonello blinked at her in surprise as she journeyed her eyes away from him.

"Lal, you . . ."

His speech was cut off by Lal's hand flying into his mouth. He looked up and found that her blushing face shifted into serious mode once more. She looked up and seemed to listen intently for something, so he did as well. Soon, they both heard footsteps.

"Men, I think they went here!" they heard a familiar voice shout. More footsteps.

"Fuck," Lal hissed. "They found us."

"Spread out, men!"

"Yes, sir!"

"They're not in here, sir!"

"Sir, the same goes for here!"

"Sir, I think I see a cave down there!"

"Down the cliff, Sergeant?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Lal stood up, leaning against the wall, estimating the position of the men. After a few silent moments, she concluded that all of them were standing on top of the two. That is, on the cliff where they jumped off.

"Doesn't look like they would survive if they jumped from here, sir!"

"Hm, your right. There can't be any other way they could've reached another place. They're probably dead right now."

"Why the troubled face, sir?"

"It's that blonde man the woman was with . . . Doesn't seem like he was any normal person."

"So, do you doubt that they're dead?"

"Somehow. We can't underestimate a couple of CEDEF members. Remember that, men."

Several "Sir! Yes, sir!"s came as replies.

"Even if that's the case, we'll let them be. If they're down there, then they're as good as dead." A pause, and then he continued. "Alright men, clear out!"

Hard footsteps were heard, and were followed by reassuring silence.

"I think they're gone," Lal muttered. "That was close."

She looked at Colonello, who walked past her towards the mouth of the cave, but halted when he was within a respectable distance from her, and then stared blankly ahead of him.

"What's going on with you?" she asked, feeling quite uneasy with him after what she said.

He just stood and stared, not minding what Lal was saying.

"If this is about what I said awhile ago, then let me just say that that was not what I meant to say. What I meant to say was-"

"Get down, kora!" he cut her off, and then pushed her down. Before their bodies could hit the floor, the mouth of the cave exploded, causing the ground to shake, sending the debris falling. Colonello used his body to shield her from the falling rocks despite her plead for him to get off.

Soon, the floor stopped shaking and the rocks stopped falling.

Colonello pushed away the large slab of stone that fell on them with his back, and then leaned on the wall gasping for air. Lal struggled to sit up, and when she was able to, her initial reaction was to check on her companion.

"Colonello!" she cried. He didn't reply. She realized that his face grew paler than before, and that scared her.

"Lal," he whispered, and then continued gasping for air. He winced, and then pressed his hand on his chest even more. Lal tried to pry his hand away, and when she did, she found that it was filled with blood. So was his chest.

"You're hit!" she exclaimed. "But how?"

She suddenly remembered when they were running away from them and they started shooting them. That's probably it.

"Lal," he whispered again, and then coughed out blood.

"Colonello, stay with me," she ordered as she fiddled through her supplies to look for something-anything- to help him, but to no avail. She swore, and then looked up at him. He was fighting to keep his eyes open, but he was fighting a losing battle.

"Colonello, please stay with me," she whispered, holding his face. Colonello lifted his hand to touch hers, and then struggled to smile.

"I will. . . .k-kora," he whispered back, and then closed his eyes.

Lal suppressed the urge to scream when she felt his hold tighten. She checked his pulse, and saw that he was still okay.

She sat up and sighed in relief, silently cursing him for scaring her like that. Then, she touched her face, and was surprised to feel tears.

Was she crying?

A few moments to brush the unacknowledged tears away. A few moments to set her mind on what to do. A few moments to pull off his jacket, lay him down, tear his white shirt off his body, and use the shattered cloth as bandages. A few moments to take off her cape, and drape it on him. A few moments to stare, to kiss, and to stand up.

Lal took a deep breath, but something choked her, and she coughed. She found difficulty in breathing after the cough. She held her breath for a few minutes, and when she felt that her lungs might explode, she let out her breath slowly. Having done that, she was able to breathe normally again.

She looked around, and saw the cause of her shortage of oxygen. The cave opening was blocked by rocks, and the other side was a dead end. In other words, they're trapped.

_Great_, she thought. _Now we're running out of air. Can things get any worse?_

She approached the wall of rocks which was once the opening of the cave, and examined it.

"Doesn't look like I could break this by hands," she mused. She lifted her left arm which contained her weapon. There's still difficulty for her to move her fingers. She lifted her other arm, which contained her Vongola Mist rings, and tried to activate at least one of them. She succeeded, but only for a short time. Her body started to weaken, making her fall on her knees, and she had no choice but to put out the purple flame.

So she still couldn't use her weapon, huh?

Lal slammed her fist on the ground, and then buried her face in her hands.

"Lal, kora?" she heard him call out weakly. Lal bobbed her head to his direction, and saw him struggling to sit up.

"Stop moving so much, idiot," she nagged, walking towards him. "Your condition will only worsen if you do."

"Are you worried about me, kora?" he asked weakly but hopefully.

"Of course not," Lal replied, sitting in front of him. "I just don't want to have a dead body stinking up the place. We're already running out of air, so to speak."

Colonello's smile weakened as he looked the other way. He was so weak, his immunity against Lal's cruelty weakened as well. What she said actually hurt. Quite more than the pain he was already feeling.

"You're still mad, huh, kora?"

Lal's eyes narrowed at him, fighting the urge to scream at him again. She did owe him her life.

"You know what the problem is with you?" she asked. "You're too rash. You don't know how to plan or think things through. You just jump from a situation to another without even giving at least a minute to try and analyze the situation."

"So, what's your point, kora?"

"I'm not trying to establish a point. All I'm saying is that you're giving those who care about you a hard time in trying to protect you."

"Am I giving you a hard time, kora?"

Lal didn't answer. He chuckled.

"Sorry, then, kora. But, in case you haven't realized this, I'm not the type who needs protection. In point of fact, I'm the one who provides protection, kora."

"So you risk your life just so you could be the hero?"

"W-well, kora . . ."

"Then again," she continued. "We are going to die anyway, so do what you want. Kill yourself, for all I care."

"I'd be glad to, kora."

She looked at him with disbelief. He chuckled once more, but he stopped immediately as he clutched his chest and winced. Lal quickly reacted, but he stopped her. He took a deep breath, and then slowly straightened up.

"Sorry about that, kora," he muttered, and then looked her in the eye. She stared back with a small hint of worry.

"You know why I want to die before you do, kora? Because I don't know how I can live without you."

His former commander blushed.

"There you go again with your stupid pick-up lines," she said as she looked away. "Do you realize how stupid you sound when you say those things?"

"You're so cute, kora."

"Please stop. Seriously."

Colonello grinned a beautiful and sincere grin. It wasn't like the other goofy grins he'd make when Lal asks him to stop complementing her. It was very different, and it scared her even more.

Surely enough, her hunch was right. Colonello winced again, but this time, it seemed to have gone worse. He started coughing blood, his body shook violently as he did, and worst of all, his wound started to bleed again.

A spur of panic travelled across her body as she gently pushed him back down. Colonello continued his seizure at the ground. He doubled over in pain as he coughed, and when he finally stopped, he turned to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling. He started to breathe slowly, making Lal relax a bit, but it only teased her for a few minutes. Soon, she saw that he was finding difficulty in breathing.

"That's it!" she cried, as she aimed her weapon at the wall of rocks. "I'm going to destroy this hindrance, even if it kills me!"

She struggled to try and ignite one of her rings, but she was stopped by something grabbing her wrist.

"Don't . . ." he gasped.

"Colonello," she choked.

"Don't leave, kora," he managed to release from his trembling lips. "Stay here. Stay next to me, kora."

Lal's eyes filled with tears as she hesitatingly nodded.

"I won't leave, then. Promise me that as well."

Colonello smiled feebly as he shook his head. Lal's heart sank in despair.

They stayed there in silence as Colonello tried to catch his breath.

"Tell me, Lal," he finally said again. "What did you want to say, kora?"

"Huh?"

"Remember, kora? With what you told me about you . . . not wanting to . . . loose me again, kora? You said . . . that you never meant that. So what . . . did you want to . . . say, kora?"

"I," she started, but she was at lost for words. She wanted to tell him the truth. That she does not want to lose him again.

Colonello silently waited, but she can't say anything.

_Come on, Lal, you wimp!_ her heart cried. _Tell him that you love him. He's already dying, goddamit'!_

"If you're . . . not going to t-tell me, I can understand, k-kora," he muttered. "I just thought t-that . . ."

"I lied," she blurted out.

Colonello stared at her. Amidst that weak and weary expression in his eyes was a confused stare.

Lal tried to say something as an explanation, but no words came out. She couldn't say it. She just couldn't.

"D-don't push yourself, k-kora. If you don't want to say it, then don't."

"But, I-"

"As . . . a matter of fact, I . . . . have something to tell you as well."

He struggled to lift his arm to touch her cheek, and then slowly muttered his next words.

"Isn't . . . it that you're always saying that you can't . . . .? say back the words 'I love you' when I say it, kora? I was . . . thinking. What if . . . What if I try another approach?"

"What are you talking about?"

Colonello ignored her, and placed his hand back down. He strived to reach for his discarded jacket, much to Lal's worry. The effort took most of the remaining energy he has left, so as soon as he grabbed hold of it, he fell down on his back again, catching his breath. After feeling a bit better to talk once more, he reached for its pocket, and pulled something out. He then reached for her hand, and pressed the object in it.

"This is . . . the reason why . . . I keep on following you around, kora."

He slowly lifted his hand and revealed a small box.

"Open it, kora."

Lal did so, and as soon as she did, she started to sob as nostalgic feelings ran about her veins. She cried so hard that the only thing she heard from Colonello's long speech was these five words:

"Will you marry me, Lal?"

She stared at the ring with a beautiful smile. Was this all she was waiting for him to say? All this time, she seemed strong enough to endure Colonello's constant flirting for somehow she thought that he wasn't that serious about her. But, now . . . But now, it's different.

She looked at him, and her smile faded.

To her horror, Colonello's eyes were already closed.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no, no, _no!_"

She bent down examine his face, checked his pulse, and even tried to feel his breathing. Anything that indicated that he was still alive. She sensed none of them, however.

"Colonello!" she cried, shaking him violently. "Colonello, wake up! Wake up! It's not funny! Come on; please open your eyes again! Please, Colonello!"

Tears fell down from her face towards his. He, however, did not react.

"I have something to say as well. When I said that I didn't want to lose you again, I meant it, alright?" she cried. "I never ever dreamt in my life to lose you! Colonello, you're the only thing that stayed with me ever since the start and, secretly, I wished that it wouldn't change. That until the end, you're still going to be mine, and only mine!"

He didn't reply, but she insisted on continuing.

"Want to know what else? All this time, I've been lying to you. About me not wanting you. About me despising you. About me being indifferent to you. The truth is that I've always hidden my true feelings for you."

She neared her face to his, and then whispered:

"Colonello, I love you."

She gently brushed her lips against his, hoping that he might get her message. When, still, he didn't do anything, she gave up. She just cried even more, and just rested her head on his chest. She took his hand, and placed it on her face.

"You didn't even give me a chance to say 'yes'," she muttered.

No matter how patient she was, she could not hear anymore his heartbeat. All she could hear was herself muttering.

"Colonello . . . What I wouldn't give to feel your warmth again."

Something inside her suddenly ignited. If only she was able to fight against those stupid men from awhile ago. If only she wasn't weak. Then maybe this wouldn't happen. Maybe he'd still be alive by now.

Anger surged within her as she slowly came to a conclusion that this was all her fault. It wasn't Colonello who was the stupid one here. It was her. She was stupid, weak, and useless, and the price was Colonello's life.

Lal quickly half-knelt and aimed her weapon at the wall, and started shooting bullets. She ignored the stabbing feeling it gave both her hands, and just kept on shooting. Nothing happened, however. The wall shook, but other than that, nothing.

Lal knew that if she kept on using her weapon, she'll run out of life flames and might die as well. And she doesn't give a damn if ever that happens. If she dies, the better.

Soon enough, she found that she can't shoot anymore. Her body gave in to the pain that has now reached every part of her. There's nothing more she could do. It was over. She's going to die in here as well.

With every bit of her remaining strength, she crawled back to Colonello.

He looked so peaceful, and he should be. He was finally free. Free from pain, from darkness, from hurt, and soon she will be too. Who knew that there will come a time when she's going to be in that situation again? Wherein death never felt so glorious?

Moments. She divided her remaining time into moments. A few moments to smile weakly at him as she pronounced her love for him. A few moments to stare at the whole of the cave where they were buried inside, and where they stayed buried until death. A few moments to akin her feelings to themselves, what with being buried inside her coldness and grief, that if it weren't for him, they would have never been dug out. A few moments to kiss, to hug, and to slowly close the eyes.

* * *

><p>"Lal, kora!" Colonello cried, bolting up, only to see a white wall a few meters away from his white bed.<p>

"Yes?" a voice replied.

He looked at where the voice was coming from, and found Lal sitting next to his bed, also dressed in white.

Colonello blinked.

"Am I in heaven, kora?"

Lal stared at him.

"I'm pretty sure that's not the case," she replied, continuing on her job peeling apples (thanks goodness they weren't white as well, kora!).

"Really, kora?" he asked, suddenly realizing how lovely she looked dressed in white. "'Cause I'm seeing an angel here in front of me."

"I have a knife," she warned.

"Sorry, kora."

"Well," she sighed, placing the plate of apples on his lap. "Seeing that you already regained the strength to generate those stupid pick-up lines of yours, you probably have the strength to eat these."

"Aww, you peeled and sliced these for me, kora?"

"Yes, and if you don't shut up, that's not the only thing I'm going to peel and slice."

Colonello chuckled as he filled his mouth with fruit. Lal stared at him.

"I'm sorry. Do you want some, kora?"

"No," she refused. "I already ate. Besides, those don't seem enough for you. Do you want me to go get you some more?"

"No, don't!" he suddenly cried, making Lal slightly jump off her seat in surprise.

"Uh, I mean," he stuttered. "Don't go. I want you to stay."

"Fine," she said, placing the knife away. "I will. Unless, of course somebody calls for me."

"Either way," she continued. "I'm glad you're finally awake. I was running out of things to peel, and I was starting to consider my hands as the next in line."

"Why, kora?"

"'Cause I was worried about you."

Colonello choked on one of the slices upon hearing that. Lal poured him a glass of water, and rubbed his back as he drank.

"Slow down," she said. "No one's going to take that from you."

"That's not it, kora," he replied, trying to catch his breath. When he found that he can breathe easily again, he stared at her.

"You were worried about me, kora?" he asked in disbelief. "Are you sure I'm not in heaven? Or, maybe this is just a dream."

"Well, I'm not sure," Lal replied. "See if this hurts."

She gave the back of his arm a hard pinch with her long fingernails and he screamed in pain.

"Yes, it hurts! It hurts, kora!"

"Then, you're not dreaming."

They heard someone knock, and their heads bobbed into the direction of Oregano, who was standing at the door.

"Am I interrupting something I should not be interrupting?" she asked.

"No, it's okay, Oregano," Colonello replied, rubbing the back of his arm. "As a matter of fact, you just saved my arm, kora!"

"Okay," she said uncertainly, and then faced Lal.

"Iemitsu wants to have a talk with you, Lal. Something about your mission."

"I see," Lal replied, stealing a glance at Colonello. "Tell him I'll be right there in a minute."

Oregano nodded, and walked away.

"Well, I should go," Lal muttered as soon as Oregano was gone.

Colonello looked at her in astonishment.

"Have I missed a memo or something while I was asleep, kora?"

"Why would you say so?"

"'Cause you're being nice to me, kora! First, you peel apples for me, then you agreed not to leave just when I asked you not to, then you say you were worrying about me, then you started serving me, and then you actually tell me you're going to leave! You never do any of those, kora! You push me around, and you never ever tell me what you're about to do! No! You just go right ahead, and do it, kora!"

"Does it seem weird?"

"Yes, kora."

"Do you want to end it?"

"Well, no. I kind of enjoy it, kora . . ."

"Good," Lal commented with a smile. "Then I won't feel guilty doing this . . ."

She bent over and brushed her lips against his, and then on his forehead. She then neared her mouth on his ears and whispered:

"I'll see you later then, 'Nello-chan . . ."

With that, she straightened up and walked out the door. Before she disappeared, Colonello noticed something shining on her finger, and it made him smile.

"So you said 'yes', didn't you, kora?"

It took her years to bury inside those feelings, but it only took him a few moments to dig them out to freedom.

**-FIN-**

***sighs* I don't know, but there's been a lot of sighing in this fic, huh? If you agree, put a sigh on your review! So, please review!**

**"You know why I want to die before you do, kora? Because I don't know how I can live without you."-Colonello**

**Okay, time to work on my next fic, AND my Christmas fic! Which means, MORE WORK FOR ME! YAY!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**LoveLots~3**

**It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas~!**


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